Saturday’s schmoozings with…
18 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: raspberry kids, saturday's schmoozings with.., sue sinclair, summer, vancouver, vancouver kids online store
Sue Sinclair of Raspberry Kids! I absolutely love Raspberry Kids – it is a wonderful online store that has the most superb items! Sue and her partner Sally are super picky (in a good way!) about the items they choose to sell, so therefore they only sell the best of the best. There are so many gorgeous items for the SSM as well as her kiddos. I had so much fun perusing Sue’s warehouse, I really would’ve walked out of there loaded down with boxes and boxes of fabulous items. Also, Sue is married to an Australian which further proves she has impeccable taste! Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing Sue and finding out more about her amazing store and how she juggles running a business and being a SSM.
SSM: What inspired you to begin Raspberry Kids?
SS: My desire to launch Raspberry Kids came from the need to find a flexible work arrangement that allowed me to balance (I’ll use that term loosely) my role as a mom with that of my business. I was able to combine my background in sales and service with my interest in technology and the added bonus was when I realized how passionate I was about sourcing high quality children’s products that weren’t typically readily available in the Canadian market.
SSM: How is Raspberry Kids different to any other online kids store ie. what do you feel sets you apart from your competition?
We have the juiciest looking logo?! We weren’t honestly sure at the beginning what set us apart but from what we’ve heard over the years, our amazing customers really seem to love that we choose our products very carefully and that they know we have vetted them and will only add the best of the best to our offering. They also have told us they look to us as leaders and innovators in the industry and love the new products we add to our site. Lastly, we hear time and time again about what great service we provide and while we don’t like to toot our own horns, we do take customer service very seriously and want to ensure customers are wowed by their experience, so much so, they spread the “word of mom” about us.
SSM: How do you find balancing Mommyhood and running a business?
I don’t honestly believe balance exists and I’m very realistic about that. What I do believe is that we have choices and mine is to work very hard and seldom “shut it off” in exchange for the flexibility to be there for my kids and work on my own terms. That means I can attend family appreciation day at the school, take the kids to appointments and run around doing errands while multi-tasking and keeping up with what is going on at Raspberry Kids HQ.
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SM: Do your kids get involved in some of your business decisions?
SS: My daughter, Jamie aspires to work with me and the kids are my biggest fans. They tell everyone about the store and of course are adorned with Raspberry Kids products. We drive a Raspberry Mobile (logo wrapped mini van) and one day the kids put their windows down and kept shouting “Toys for sale” so they are now officially part of the marketing team too! If my daughter had her way, the entire shop would be comprised of pink and purple so we are still working on honing their eye for design and quality when it comes to product considerations! They definitely get to test their fair share of toys, lotions & potions, feeding gear and whatever else comes our way!
SSM: Regarding style, what are your top 5 wardrobe staples?
SS: Jeans, Flats, Blazers, a few “accessories” that I rotate and recently, I’ve been digging skirts & dresses a lot!
SSM: Summer is fast approaching, outside of work where in Vancouver are your family and you going to be spending your free time?
We intend on spending about two weeks at our family cottage back in Manitoba (armed with eco.kid Outback Jack Bug Spray and Green Beaver sunscreen of course!) but other than that we will definitely be taking in all that our amazing city has to offer. Some of our fave places to hang out are the aquarium, Stanley Park, the Endowment Lands and the dog beaches. We also ride our bikes along the seawall from False Creek to Yaletown and then hit a patio at a family friendly restaurant like Salsa y Agave on Pacific!
SSM: Do you have a favourite Raspberry Kids product you can recommend to our Simplystylish Mom this summer?
SS: Wow! That is a tough question as we’ve added over 250 products from over 30 new and existing brands. Much of what we offer is geared toward children but we have a ton of items that are fabulous for the whole family. Specific to summer, my recos would be: Skip Hop Central Park Blanket, Green Beaver or Badger sunscreens, Kooringal hats for the kiddies, a Kor Hydration Vessel or a Vapur Anti-bottle and Lunchskins and other “on the go” reusable feeding gear. I also need to give special mention to Hopscotch Kids and Scotch Naturals eco-friendly nail polish for mom and me mani’s and pedi’s. They have amazing hues and you can feel good knowing they are safe to wear!
SSM: And final words of wisdom you can offer to Moms who own a small business?
SS: Running a small business while raising a family is not for the faint of heart. I would recommend having a plan and talking to others that are doing what you want to do before you take the leap and being realistic about what running a business entails. I actually work more now than I ever did and it isn’t easy to keep all the balls in the air but if you are passionate about what you do and work extremely hard at it, persist, innovate and surround yourself with amazing people, the sky is the limit!
Thank you so much simply stylish Sue!
xxo, SSM
